ServiceNow Equity FAQ

ServiceNow RSUs follow a four-year vesting schedule with a one-year cliff, meaning 25% of your grant vests on your first anniversary. After the cliff, the remaining 75% vests either quarterly or biannually depending on your grant size. Vesting typically occurs in February, May, August, and November.

Yes, ServiceNow offers an ESPP with a 15% discount and lookback pricing. The plan has 6-month offering and purchase periods, with enrollment windows in January and July. You can contribute up to 15% of your eligible compensation to purchase stock at a discount.

ServiceNow typically provides annual performance-based refresher grants. However, recruiters often don't share expected refresher amounts upfront, and there's some variability in when refreshers begin vesting. Refreshers are part of ServiceNow's ongoing retention and performance compensation strategy.

When your RSUs vest, they're taxed as ordinary income based on the fair market value on the vesting date. ServiceNow allows you to adjust your tax withholding rate to ensure you have adequate withholding or to manage your cash flow preferences.

To receive favorable tax treatment (qualifying disposition) on ESPP shares, you must hold them for at least 2 years from the offering date and 1 year from the purchase date. Selling before these periods results in a disqualifying disposition with different tax consequences.

ServiceNow offers a 401(k) match of 100% up to $2,000 of your contributions, with immediate vesting. The plan also includes valuable features like Mega Backdoor Roth conversions and Roth 401(k) options for additional tax planning flexibility.

If you leave ServiceNow, you have 90 days to exercise any vested stock options. After this 90-day post-termination window, you'll lose the right to exercise those options. Your options expire 10 years from the original grant date if not exercised earlier.

Yes, you must comply with ServiceNow's Insider Trading Policy and may be subject to blackout periods, particularly before earnings announcements. Preclearance is required for certain stock transactions, and ServiceNow offers 10b5-1 trading plans that allow you to set up predetermined trading schedules.